Online Course Discussion Forum

Problem 4.39

 
 
Picture of Tony Qu
Problem 4.39
by Tony Qu - Wednesday, July 22, 2020, 11:38 AM
 

Does anyone know how to solve this question:


 
Picture of Dr. Kevin Wang
Re: Problem 4.39
by Dr. Kevin Wang - Thursday, July 23, 2020, 9:45 PM
 

This is in the book Math Challenge III Combinatorics.

There are multiple ways to calculate the sum.  For example, you can start with $S=\{1\}$, and see what answer you get; then let $S=\{1,2\}$, and so on, and check if you get a pattern.  Another way to look at it is that you first count how many subsets $S$ has.  It is $2^n$.  Then there are $2^n$ choices for $A$ and $2^n$ choices for $B$.  Focus on one element of $S$, for example $1$.  The number $1$ belongs to exactly half of the subsets of $S$.  Pick any randomly chosen subset $A$ and another randomly chosen subset $B$, consider the subsets $A\cap B$, $A\cap\overline{B}$, $\overline{A}\cap B$, and $\overline{A}\cap\overline{B}$.  (Here $\overline{A}$ means the complement of $A$ with respect to $S$.) How many of these sets contain $1$?  From there you can continue to figure out the answer.